1. Field of Invention
This invention is generally aimed at aerobic waste treatment systems. More specifically, this invention is an alarm which alerts owners of such systems that the treatment media in the systems is in need of replenishment.
Generally, in outlying rural areas, farms and homes are not connected to a city's sewerage and pipeline system. Thus, each of those farms and homes must have its own internal sewerage treatment system. The typical rural sewerage treatment system is normally an aerobic waste treatment system that includes a chlorinator.
Chlorinators are used to disinfect the process flow through the sewer line and utilize chlorine as their treatment or disinfectant media. Chlorine typically dissolves through use. An owner of an aerobic waste treatment system must normally inspect the chlorine cartridge of the chlorinator in order to determine whether the chlorine within the cartridge is in need of replenishment. Because aerobic waste treatment systems are located outside the owner's home, the owner must go outside and must retrieve the chlorine cartridge from the outdoor system in order to determine whether the chlorine is in need of replenishment. It would therefore be beneficial to the prior art to provide an alarm mechanism for chlorinators which alerts owners of such chlorinators, without requiring the owners to leave their home, that the chlorine is in need of replenishment.
Some owners of chlorinators utilize a set schedule to inspect the chlorine cartridge and chlorine remaining therein. However, a set chlorine inspection schedule is impractical because sewerage use, and the dissolution of chlorine caused thereby, is not a constant in any home. Thus, it would be beneficial to the prior art to provide an alarm mechanism for chlorinators which eliminates the need for set chlorine inspection schedules.
Instead or in addition to following a set chlorine inspection schedule, some owners insert a large quantity of chlorine within the chlorine cartridge with the purpose of extending the periods of time between treatment media replenishment. However, in those systems in which chlorine tablets are used, it has been discovered that, if too many tablets are placed within the chlorine cartridge, some of the chlorine tablets are likely to stick to the treatment cartridge thereby prohibiting the proper feeding mechanism of the tablets and the proper operation of the chlorinator. It would thus be beneficial to the prior art to provide an alarm mechanism for chlorinators which eliminates the need to insert a large quantity of chlorine into the treatment cartridge in order to extend the periods of time between chlorine replenishment.
2. Related Art
Applicant does not know of the existence of an alarm mechanism which alerts owners of chlorinators that the chlorine in the systems is in need of replenishment. Other mechanisms which indicate the dissolution or decomposition of certain materials are known to the prior art. Illustrative of such mechanisms are U.S. Pat. No. 1,087,958 that issued to Leavitt on Feb. 24, 1914, U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,481 that issued to Murray on Dec. 10, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,527 that issued to Iannacone on May 25, 1976. These mechanisms, however, are in no way structurally similar to the Applicant's invention and are not generally applicable to aerobic waste treatment systems or chlorinators in particular.